Members of the Radcliffe Union of Students received an e-mail invitation to a party this weekend.

“sextoyz!” it proclaimed in a bold banner announcement, advertising the group’s third annual sex toys party.

Besides promising discussion of first experiences with the toys, the e-mail enticed guests with free vibrators for the first 25 people in the door.

But when members scrolled down to the bottom of the e-mail, a more sedate script added that the event was dedicated to “women expanding their understanding of their bodies as sites of pleasure.”

That single e-mail highlights the dilemma most often faced by groups at Harvard that represent minority or marginalized communities.

These “identity groups,” often perceived as speaking for an entire community, must balance the need to provide a social space for their members with political stances that can threaten their cohesion.

The Comfort Zone

Student leaders say part of the dilemma stems from the fact that at a vast institution like Harvard, students expect identity groups to foster a sense of community—one built largely through social ties.

So students seek certain groups “to create a comfortable space,” says Toussaint G. Losier ’04, political action series chair of the Black Students Association (BSA).

RAZA President Maribel Hernandez ’04 says this desire, in turn, often results from a shift in identity minority and marginalized students often face once at Harvard.

“We didn’t necessarily think of ourselves as Mexican-Americans or Mexicans before we came to Harvard,” she says. “But when you get here, that’s what you are.”

“This year we had a lot of new freshmen who felt alienated when they realized Harvard was no feminist haven,” adds Jessica M. Rosenberg ’04, the publicity chair for RUS.

This desire for camaraderie goes hand in hand with tempered political activity.

Last April, the Bisexual Gay Lesbian Transgendered and Supporters Alliance (BGLTSA) planned a queer “kiss-in” outside the Science Center as part of “Gaypril,” its self-styled name for its gay pride month. But it was called off at the last minute because of dissension within the group.

The issue polarized the group’s membership, with some members heatedly arguing that the controversial aspects of the event were unwarranted without a concrete impetus.